The FDA Is Warning People Not to Use Sunscreen Pills in Place of SPF—Here's Why

The beauty industry is perpetually trying to one-up itself with new formulas and product innovations, but according to the FDA, there's one product you should steer clear of: sunscreen pills.

In a press release published on Tuesday and written by FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., the FDA announced that it sent warning letters to four companies for illegally marketing dietary supplements that claim they can protect people from the dangers of sun exposure. The FDA chastised the four products—GliSODin Advanced Skin Brightening Formula, Napa Valley Bioscience Sunsafe Rx, Solaricare, and Sunergetic—for "putting people’s health at risk by giving consumers a false sense of security that a dietary supplement could prevent sunburn, reduce early skin aging caused by the sun, or protect from the risks of skin cancer."

The FDA is 100-percent clear about its stance on sunscreen pills: "There's no pill or capsule that can replace your sunscreen." The companies are now required to re-frame marketing and product labelling. They may now opt to follow the model of Heliocare, a dietary supplement that has consistently recommended customers use a topical sunscreen in addition to the supplement.

In lieu of any trendy supplements, the FDA reminded us all to stick to tried-and-true topical sunscreen formulations in lotions, creams, sprays, and sticks. (However, it's worth mentioning that researchers are finding evidence that some commonly used chemical sunscreen ingredients—oxybenzone and octinoxate—pose a threat to marine environments. Hawaii just passed a ban on them that goes into effect starting in 2021.) The FDA also has general guidelines for sunscreen use. The agency recommends a broad spectrum sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher, applied at least 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply at least every two hours, especially if you go in the water.

The agency restated its commitment to sunscreen research and innovation in the announcement. "When sunscreens first came on the U.S. market, sunscreen active ingredients were not thought to penetrate the skin,” Gottlieb wrote. “We now have evidence that it’s possible for some sunscreen active ingredients to be absorbed through the skin." The keywords are through the skin—not ingested, as the manufacturers of sunscreen pills previously claimed.

Remember: If a new product sounds too good to be true, that's probably because it is. This summer, we'll all just have to apply our sunscreen the old-fashioned way: topically.